The dictionary definition of the police is “the organized civil force of a state, concerned with maintenance of law and order, the detection and prevention of crime, etc,” (Collins English Dictionary, 2002). This definition states the minimum of what the police actually do. Providing support for families, protecting society from criminals and responding to calls 24 hours a day 7 days a week are just some of the other roles that police have to deal with. In this essay the evolution of the police will be discussed as well as how the police are facing challenges.
The police are continuously developing and have been ever since the beginning of informal policing which saw that everyone who lived in a society had to be responsible for
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Today’s policing are more punitive because crime itself has developed along with society through the years and therefore needs to be harsher than just locking a criminal in stocks. Although health and safety today probably wouldn’t even allow the use of stocks and would most likely infringe on human rights. In spite of that, modern policing is becoming more community orientated again with new approaches to tackling crime such as creating new roles like community support officers. With this new development, the police are now constantly adapting to which style they use within society. Policing uses 3 main styles in the UK to oppose crime, the first being legalistic style, secondly the watchman style and lastly the service style. Each of these styles has a different way of enforcing the law. The legalistic style focuses more on the law enforcement; arresting and detaining suspects (Dempsey, J. Forst, L, 2011). This style is mainly used in larger cities due to high crime rates. However, this style mainly concentrates on the law breaking than any social problems that may arise such as anti-social behaviour.
The reason we have the police is to maintain order of society (Fahy, Sir P. 2013).
Kuykendal (2001) states, “A police style is how each department and officer view their particular mission or purpose and identify with particular methods
The history of policing has changed drastically through the four eras. From the police basically being criminals themselves in the beginning to becoming trained and skilled officers says a lot about our law
Policing and the way they operate are truly similar as if they are hand in hand with one another. In order for operations to run smoothly and the department to be functioning as one there has to be proper training and care from the supervisors, administrators and from everyone who works together to understand that they’re a team. Everyone in the police department has to work together instead of against one another just to make sure everyone is doing their jobs by the books with no room for errors.
According to Pollock (2017) there are three policing styles. They are legalistic style, the watchman style, and the caretaker style. These styles describe the discretion of the typologies pf police. The legalistic style is described as discretionary enforcement, objectively enforcing without exceptions. The watchman style of policing describes the police that defines the situations as threatening or serious depending on the group or individuals then acts accordingly.
The watchman style function is to place an importance on maintaining order through informal police “intervention” and relies on threats or persuasion to resolve disputes. This style of policing is normally found in rural areas and blue- collar communities with a diverse population. Officers in a watchman style agency exercise a liberal amount of discretion to keep the order. In other words, certain crimes go unnoticed based on the seriousness of the offense.
Policing has come a long way since the London Metropolitan Police. In the mid-1800 's policing was more about crime prevention and use of force was a rare last ditch effort to gain compliance from a suspect ( White p. 69-69 ) New technologies have changed policing from an informal neighborhood watch to a sophisticated organization.
Policing today consists of three eras. These three eras have adapted and built off one another through history (Parr, 2014). The first era started around 1840 to 1930, and is known as the Political Era. The second Era is known as the Reform Era and lasted from 1930 to 1970. The last era is called the Community-Problem Solving Era and is still being adapted and used today. The Political Era emphasizes on meeting the needs of politicians. The police were given power through the local government and the community had very little say in what happened. The police and politicians worked together to control the city and neighborhoods (Palmiotto, 2000). This was often referred to as a ward. The ward politician controlled all the police in their neighborhood. The police officers tasks included not only crime prevention and order but a lot of social service activities that involved their neighborhoods. The officers resembled the ethnic backgrounds of the neighborhoods they lived and worked in and performed their patrols gaining trust from their community (Palmiotto, 2000). This allowed positive integration of police officers leading to more public service, and the trust of the officers to stop crime when is starts.
It has been made abundantly clear in the Victorian police blue form that the existent operating model is battling to prosper with the evolving demands upon it and to meet the wider communities’ expectations. In its current form the model will fail to meet the expected augmentation and sequences of demand in the coming years. Precipitately increasing demand is motivated by extensive social, economic and environmental trends. There are various factors leading to the need for change in the way Victorian police operate. A major factor is the rapid change in technology.
The police are responsible for detecting crime and making sure those who commit crimes are penalized. It is important to know how the police became and has evolved over the centuries to meet the needs of citizens. Before police force, policing had been very informal and privately-funded. Citizens of the society formed groups to maintain social order. Many relied on night watch to protect their property which wasn’t very successful.
As we learned in previous chapters of the textbook police departments have gone* through several different eras of policing the earliest time of policing the political era to the most current community policing; each of these eras of policing gravitated towards different policies regarding to diminishing crime. During the 1820s police departments followed the traditional approach to policing which was refection of a military model. The Quasi-military name derives from how police departments mimic the hierarchy structure and organization style from the military.
The role of police officers is very significant to American history. Police work toward protecting citizens’ rights and helping America become the land of the free. The United States of America is built from the U.S. Constitution Bill of Rights and police play a major role in making sure American rights are met. Evolution has changed many of American history for the better; policing is part of those changes. As new issues in society arise, police must change and adapt to protect and serve the public.
Policing History and Function Law enforcement officers are primarily responsible for detecting and preventing crimes within the state. Their purpose is to safeguard public order; however, due to the arduous history and sometimes troubling present-day policing that has occurred in America, numerous people have negative attitudes toward police. Despite the various attitudes toward police, it is important to observe the growth of law enforcement by examining the history, laws, and functions of police in today’s society. The History of Policing in America to Present day To understand how policing has progressed and changed over time, it is important to examine the history of policing.
This movement called for reform across a wide range of social problems. This reform included a change in corruption of police agencies. The reform led to the era of Professionalism which focused on crime control and a more centralized police department (Bond, 2016). The police’s relationship with the community shifted from intimate too distant in efforts to create a professional environment. Communities began to negatively change there perspectives on the police.
Police forces or Law enforcers have been used for centuries all around the world but America took particular interest in the English’s policing system. America’s policing ideas and process began
The history of the Police takes us back to England, according to an article "The History of Modern Policing" by Timothy Roufa updated February 2, 2017. Citizens were responsible for maintaining law and order. People who served as constables and justice of the peace were often not paid since they volunteered. Full-time sheriff's responsibility was to keep an eye to law enforcement activities. These early roles made a significant impact to the history of the police. In the early 1700's and early 1800's in the United States and England the population increased its lead to civil unrest and riots, it was clear they needed professional form of law enforcement that will be authorized by the government. Philosopher Jeremy Bentham began to call the
Our police started out as a part of the British law enforcement system, which was used to control convicts. Police used to operate under British law, however as our country evolved and through events such as the gold rush, the police force had to change to accommodate for the changed in the country. Since the Queensland Police Force began operating under its own legislation on January 1, 1864, with only 143 employees, much has changed to bring us the police force we have now. Not only have the advances in technology increased the ability that police officers have to keep us safe, but also the many changes in the views of our society have created a diverse police force. The police play an integral role